Thursday, January 21, 2016

Thursday Movie Picks - Airplane Movies

Written as part of the weekly blogathon hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves. Join in the fun by picking three movies that fit the week's theme and telling us about them!

This week, on Thursday Movie Picks, it's not a bird, it's not Superman.... it's a PLANE! Well, in this case, three of them. And one flying man.

Airplane! (Jim Abrahams, David and Jerry Zucker, 1980) "Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?" "Roger, Roger. What's our vector, Victor?" "Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue!" "By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?" "There's a sale at Penney's!!" "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley." And those are just SOME of the one-liners. The brilliance of ZAZ's spoof - which uses much of the script from the 50s disaster film Zero Hour - is out of this world. If you don't laugh your ass off, I just don't think you can be helped.

Air Force One (Wolfgang Petersen, 1997) Look at that trailer. Go on, just look at it. Have you ever seen anything so '90s in your whole life?!? Harrison Ford as the ass-kicking President of the United States. Gary Oldman as a Russian terrorist who hijacks his plane. Glenn Close back in the White House as the Vice President. William H. Macy. I can't believe they didn't put the best part of the movie ("Get the hell off my plane!") in there. Air Force One may be a relic of a certain time and style of moviemaking, but it still one hell of an entertaining ride. Harrison Ford for Movie President in perpetuity.

The Rocketeer (Joe Johnston, 1991) When I was a kid, this was one of my favorite movies. Still is, really - I've never outgrown it. When swoon-worthy pilot Billy Campbell finds a secret rocket-fueled jetpack hidden by the Nazis, he becomes a bit of a superhero. That is, until his gorgeous girlfriend Jennifer Connelly is kidnapped by dashing movie star/Nazi spy Timothy Dalton, in order to get the rocket back. The film is nothing but pure, old-school Hollywood movie magic and fun. I still don't know who in the cast I have the biggest crush on.

BONUS PICK

Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (Richard Donner, 1963) So, technically, this isn't a movie. But each episode of The Twilight Zone was basically a mini-movie, and this is one of the very best episodes of that show. The basic premise: William Shatner is a man who suffered a nervous breakdown six months ago while aboard a plane, and is now on a plane again for the first time since. And mid-flight, he sees.... something... on the wing of the plane. But every time someone else looks, it disappears. The "gremlin" may be one of the worst pieces of 50s B-movie style makeup ever, but the tension of the script and the direction work like gangbusters. It was also re-done as a segment of the Twilight Zone movie with John Lithgow in the Shatner role, but the TV version is better.

Sadly, I still need to see The Rocketeer. I planned on watching it and put it on My list when it was on Netflix and they got rid of it before I got around to it. Kicking myself over that one. Gotta love Air Force One. What cheesy fun, that is. And Airplane! is the right answer.

I used to watch Twilight Zone as a kid, but don't remember that particular episode. I'm definitely going to watch it since I saw the names Richard Donner and William Shatner attached. Great post.

LOVE these! I picked The Rocketeer last year for another theme. Such a fun film with a real sense of adventure and some terrific performances. Air Force One! OY! You hit the nail on the head when you said its prototypical 90's fare, still ridiculous fun. Fantastic bonus pick, kudos for linking the entire episode, and Shatner is just the overripe ham to have starred in it.

I'm a real sucker for this type of film, so much so that I could only get my choices down to five! We kind of match on one in a roundabout way...I actually expected to see it turn up so I put it as an extra but so far it hasn't.

Airport (1970)-The big one that started the disaster trend of the 70’s. A little hokey to be sure but eminently watchable. Multiple storylines intersect during a major snowstorm inside an airport when a desperate man boards a plane bound for Rome carrying a bomb. It’s all rather melodramatic but the all-star cast keeps it entertaining. Helen Hayes won a best supporting actress Oscar for her performance but it’s Maureen Stapleton who gives a real and very touching portrayal of a woman in an impossible situation. Jacqueline Bissett is young and beautiful, the chicest stewardess to ever fly the friendly skies.

Flight of the Phoenix (1965)-During a sandstorm in the Sahara a plane crashes in the desert, by chance one of the passengers is an airplane designer who formulates a plan to build a flyable plane from the wreckage but they must rush before their food and water runs out. Great cast, Jimmy Stewart, Peter Finch, Richard Attenborough and Ernest Borgnine among others, in a tense adventure. This was remade with Dennis Quaid in 2004, avoid that version it is T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E!!

Five Came Back (1939)-Twelve people (including a young Lucille Ball) bound on a flight for South America are blown off course in a storm and crash land in a jungle known to be inhabited by head hunters. As the crew race against time to fix the plane the situation brings out the best and worst among the survivors. When at last the engine is repaired only five can fly out, who will they be? Trim little thriller was remade as Back from Eternity in the 50’s.

Bonuses-Jet over the Atlantic (1959)-Utterly preposterous low budget quasi-thriller with gaping plot holes and absurd actions but still sorta fun. It's the very absurdity of the story, poison gas floating through the plane that only effects certain people, guns being shot off willy-nilly without regard to the fact that they are aboard a plane that makes you suspend belief and enjoy it for what it is. Even with all its faults this is still more fun than suffering through many other more self-important films. Something for a rainy afternoon.

Zero Hour! (1957)-The film that was the inspiration for Airplane! is a competently made drama if you can watch it as a separate viewing experience…but that’s a big if. Dana Andrews and Linda Darnell play it straight but you can see the influence they had on the other film. Sterling Hayden is stiff as a board, Lloyd Bridges had to change practically nothing to parody it. Even if you are trying to be detached and see it apart from the spoof a line will pop up like "Looks like I picked the wrong day to quit smoking." and it takes you right out of the movie.

I'm kind of embarrassed to say that I haven't seen a single one of the Airport movies. BUT, I have seen Zero Hour and just about howled my way through it because of how dead on Airplane is. I'm sad to hear the '04 Flight of the Phoenix is no good because Dennis Quaid... SWOON.

Love these movies! The Rocketeer is just a great film that, thankfully, has a huge cult following. Airplane makes me laugh every time-I love all those types of movies and Peter graves is hilarious. Good ole Air Force One is a fun flick for sure. I LOVE the Twilight Zone and this episode gave me nightmares with that gremlin. Even though the guy in the suit looked cheesy it still gives me chills

About Me

Performer since birth, tap dancer since the age of 10. Life-long book-lover. Film obsessive. Frustrated artist since college graduation. Non-profit database specialist by day, tap teacher by night, Netflix binge-watcher by weekend.